


Keeping it Classy

by OMGitsgreen



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Romantic Comedy, Awkward Flirting, Bakery and Coffee Shop, College Parties, Complete, Gen, M/M, Nico being an awkward gremlin, Solangelo Week 2018, awkward pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-04-23 10:54:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14330949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OMGitsgreen/pseuds/OMGitsgreen
Summary: "Nico had liked to think that Will lived in a cave unburdened by society and only emerged to get coffee and be Nico’s fantasy, and the fact that Will lived on the peripheral of Nico’s friend group somehow made him more nervous. All of Nico’s friends were freaks (who Nico loved and cared about though he would never say it but they were all still certifiably freaky) so if Will was his friend’s friend that meant he must also be some form of freaky." Nico has a guilty pleasure, checking out a guy who goes to the same coffee shop that he does. But when they bump into each other at a party, neither of them seem to be prepared.





	1. The Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I’m not dead! I’ve emerged from my long hiatus with a new fic. Another college AU...because I apparently can’t get enough of these, on top of being loaded with a bunch of other tropes. But hey? I love that stuff and it inspired me enough to get out of my funk so I’m grateful. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and hey, hopes I get chapter two out as soon as I can!

Nico wasn’t a morning person, that was clear to every single person who knew him. Honestly Nico had a personal vendetta against the sun for daring to wake him up with its light. But his despair wasn’t enough to keep him from his duties, so as always he dragged himself out of bed. Nico scrounged around for a pair of jeans that didn’t have any noticeable stains and a shirt he hadn’t worn within the past three days. He brushed his teeth and attempted to pull a comb through his hair, grabbed his phone, pulled on a sweatshirt and his backpack and half stumbled out the door close enough to being on time that it could actually be considered a good morning. Nico was thoroughly on auto-pilot as he wandered down the street, yawning so wide that he felt like his jaw was about to unhinge. By the time that he made it to the coffee shop some of the haze had disappeared with the brisk breeze, and though he was still rubbing sleep-crud out from his eyes he had his hopes on setting his eyes on something...or someone.

He came into the coffee shop every morning religiously. Piper (who was his roommate’s girlfriend), noticed him from behind the counter as he approached and smiled at him. Nico was sure that half or more than half of the customers came in just to see her, seeing as she was not only beautiful but insanely easy to talk to. But Nico’s favorite thing about her, seeing as he had no interest in her that way, was that she always remembered what he liked. Whether that be turning down the volume when Jason played X-Box, or how he liked his coffee. She was considerate like that.

“Morning Nico, I put in your usual when I saw you,” Piper said with a smile as if on cue. 

“Thanks,” Nico said honestly as he swiped his phone to check the charge, cringing as he saw a measly 10%. He must’ve forgotten to plug his phone in, he would have to do that at some point in the day. Nico stood off to the side with the others who had already ordered. For the first time he pulled out his phone and checked his email and his tumblr, while simply enjoying the smell of coffee. It was Nico’s time, before his day got too hectic. It just let him wake up with some semblance of grace, as opposed to spending the rest of his day as some kind of swamp monster.

“Morning.”

Nico looked up, and caught blue eyes.

Oh Jesus fuck, Nico’s brain supplied. It’s Will.

Now, the only reason Nico even knew the guy’s name was because it was written on the side of his coffee every morning. Nico hadn’t ever actually spoken to him besides the polite morning greeting, though he had often appeared in Nico’s rather sordid daydreams. And Nico couldn’t be blamed for that since Will was drop dead gorgeous, tall and broad with golden curls and tanned freckled skin, a smile that could endear even the most terrifying soccer mom, and blue eyes that were wide and welcoming. Unfortunately Will was also definitely as straight as a ruler. Any boy that Nico had met who wore baggy plaid cargo shorts and a white polo was tragically straight (though thankfully he was dressed in jeans and a flannel that was far more flattering and that he filled out nicely). Not wishing the relive the absolute worst part of high school (i.e. lusting after a straight boy), Nico kept his interactions with Will as brief as possible, though he saw the guy almost every day.

“Good morning,” Nico said, half-choking on his tongue, trying to pull up some kind of pleasant expression but probably failing. Will smiled at him, white teeth glinting like he was a model on some kind of toothpaste ad and it made Nico’s knees feel a little wobbly. God Will was probably an amazing kisser, he had a kissable looking face if there was such a thing. Will’s kissable mouth moving down his neck...down his chest, leaving marks where everyone could see--

Great, discovering new kinks and lusting after the guy at the coffee shop at 8:30 in the morning. Nico thought to himself, face feeling warm as he ducked his head down in an attempt to drown himself in his phone screen. He could almost hear his sister Hazel saying something along the lines of: _way to keep it classy Nico Luca Giuseppe di Angelo_.

“Will, order up,” Piper called as she placed Nico’s order and Will’s on the counter. “Nico, order up.”

“Thank you,” Will said with a bright thankful smile. Nico simply nodded his thanks as he went to swipe his two coffees and food off the counter. Nico walked towards the door, attempting to balance his coffees and his bag while also stuffing his phone in his jacket pocket.

“Here,” Will said as he opened the door.

“Oh, uh, thanks,” Nico said, caught off guard by the gentlemanly gesture, blinking rapidly as his eyes attempted to get used to the radiance of the sun and of Will which was easier said than done.

“Have a good rest of your day, Nico,” Will told him as he stood to the side and allowed Nico to walk by him.

“How do you know my name?” Nico asked, surprised by the sound of his own name in the hot tones of Will’s smooth as warmed butter voice.

“Coffee cup,” Will said cheerfully as he held up his own that was emblazoned with his name in Piper’s elegant script.

“Oh. Oh, yeah,” Nico said as he stuttered awkwardly. “Right. Uh, have a good one.”

“Bye,” Will said with a wave.

“Bye,” Nico said shortly. He stood there numbly for a second, watching Will leave and turn down the street. That had just happened, Nico thought. And he couldn’t really believe it. Will seemed like a nice guy, a nice and completely unattainable guy. Just his luck. It would have been so much easier if he was an asshole, Nico thought crossly.

“Wipe that drool off your chin,” Hazel’s voice came from the side. Nico looked to the side and saw her grinning at him, gold eyes glinting with humor and tapping her ballerina flats on the sidewalk as she looked at him expectantly.

“Oh stop it,” Nico chided his sister as he handed her one of the coffees and hoped that it was the right one. She opened the cover, looked, and seemed pleased as she replaced the cover and began to take a sip.

“He’s cute though,” Hazel told him as she nudged him. “Really cute. Is that your Coffee Crush?”

“Coffee Crush--he is not my crush!” Nico told her way too quickly. Hazel, like a true relative of his, sensed his weakness and pounced like a shark. “How did you even know about him?”

“Oh he so is, he’s totally your type. You pretend to be all dark and brooding but you actually get all hot and bothered under the collar over fine upstanding young gentlemen callers who you could bring home to your mama,” Hazel said with a widening grin, and Nico tried not to squirm due to the accurate assessment of his weaknesses. “Besides, there are only three reasons you would get up at this time. Number one, you have class. Which you don’t until 10:00 and I know this because I have your schedule memorized. Number two, which is more likely, you are planning and executing a murder. Also impossible seeing as you didn’t tell me you were murdering someone which you so would because you would need my help. Number three, which I now see is the case, you totally have a crush.”

“Please stop talking about this I beg of you,” Nico implored desperately, looking around. It would be just his luck that one of the people he knew would be listening in and tease him endlessly because of this.

“Okay, okay, got it,” Hazel told him as she hooked her arm through Nico’s.

“As if I would bring anyone to meet Persephone. She might bite his nose off, and I happen to like the shape of his nose,” Nico told Hazel as he sipped his black coffee, with one sugar just exactly as he liked it, before grinning. “And besides, I’m perfectly capable of murder without incriminating you. Don’t think I haven’t done it before.”

“I think I’m liking 9:00 AM Nico, he’s feisty,” Hazel giggled. 

“As if you know the half of it.”

* * *

Nico didn’t party.

The reasons were as follows:

1\. He had tried it a few times and it seemed like it never went well for him.  
2\. No, it wasn’t any of your business what happened in Albania during Nico’s semester abroad, fuck you, he wasn’t going to say it.

So how did Nico deal with the fact that one of his roommates, Percy Jackson (yes, the Percy Jackson) was pretty much the unofficial mayor of the college? Well normally he just tended to avoid his apartment when he knew there would be mischief at hand. But that day Percy swore up and down that it would only be a couple people coming over. By ten the coffee table had been converted to beer pong, the apartment was full to bursting with people drunk off their asses, and Nico had taken to hiding in his bedroom.

“Nico, Nico come out!” Percy’s voice came from the other side, where all the noise was coming from to be more exact. Nico at that moment had a choice to make. Either he could just pretend the party wasn’t happening and stay in his room, or suck it up and go out there.

Nico turned over in his bed, perfectly content to stay there under his covers and enjoying his rest. It worked for maybe two minutes while Percy continued to knock, and when the noise ceased, Nico just assumed that Percy had gotten bored and breathed a sigh of relief. Despite all the noise, he had even started to think he might actually be able to fall asleep.

“Nico, get out here.”

Shit, Nico thought to himself with a wince. They’d brought out the big guns. Nico dragged his feet and walked over to the door, yanking it open to reveal Reyna who was dressed in a flaming red crop top and waist-high jeans. She was even wearing her battle body, not a good sign. He wasn’t going to win this battle.

“What?” Nico demanded shortly hoping for minimum bloodshed on his part. Reyna raised a brow.

“This is an intervention. Come out and interact socially with your peers.”

“Bite me,” Nico scoffed, tossing a look to Percy.

“Sorry, I don’t want any diseases,” Percy said as he held his hands up. “You could be rabid. I once got bit by a rabid chipmunk and I don’t want to go through that again.”

“Oh wow Jackson real mature,” Nico huffed, but he didn’t go back in his room for the moment, which Percy obviously took as a sign of victory and grinned.

“Oh come on, put yourself out there, flirt with cute boys. Knock them dead, just not literally because I don’t want to have to spend the rest of my weekend dealing with that, I have a date with Annabeth tomorrow and like, she’d totally get it and understand and all but still. I don’t like disappointing her,” Percy said worriedly.

“Literally you are nauseating,” Nico told him.

“What about that boy over there? He’s totally your type,” Reyna said and when Nico gave her a scandalized look she huffed. “What? You deserve to have fun and be happy. And really, he’s pretty hot. Come on.”

This time Nico actually followed her gaze to where she was looking and immediately regretted everything. All the thoughts in his brain came to a screeching, grinding halt like a train slamming on the breaks and crashing into a station named “oh my god what the literal fuck”.

“No, you are freaking kidding me,” Nico said as he stared at tall, gorgeous, straight boy daydream coffee crush Will who was chatting it up with Jason and some a group of others who looked vaguely familiar. Of course it was his luck that the dude he was fantasizing about (totally innocently mind you) would show up in his actual life. How rude and inconsiderate could you get?

“Oh hey, Will Solace. I’m glad he came!” Percy said happily.

“Wait you know him?” Nico demanded, absorbing this new information. Will Solace, Will Solace. His name had a ring to it, a musical quality. Somehow even his name was attractive which only served to piss him off. And somehow Percy knew Will, which Nico supposed was inevitable since Percy knew everyone but still. Nico had liked to think that Will lived in a cave unburdened by society and only emerged to get coffee and be Nico’s fantasy, and the fact that Will lived on the peripheral of Nico’s friend group somehow made him more nervous. All of Nico’s friends were freaks (who Nico loved and cared about though he would never say it but they were all still certifiably freaky) so if Will was his friend’s friend that meant he must also be some form of freaky.

“What? Yeah, of course. He’s in my organic chemistry study group,” Percy told him. “How do you know him?”

“Oh my God,” Reyna said, eyebrows shooting up. “Will Solace is your coffee guy?”

“Wait really?” Percy gasped.

“Why does everyone know about my coffee guy?” Nico hissed at them. “What did Hazel even tell you?”

“It was Piper who said something. And she just said there was a cute boy you liked who you see at the coffee shop,” Reyna said with a scoff. “I don’t see why it’s a big deal. Go flirt with him.”

“No thanks I have promised myself that I won’t lust after straight boys considering last time—sorry Percy—“

Percy snorted, which caused Nico to look at him. Percy just smirked at Nico.

“No, no. Sorry. I don’t want to burst your bubble here, since you’ve convinced yourself Will’s not available,” Percy told Nico casually, obviously trying and failing to keep himself from smiling. “Continue.”

“What the hell do you know that I don’t?” Nico demanded.

“I’m not one to disclose other people sexual orientations, but Will’s on the organizing committee for the Pride parade activities on campus and the vice president of the university’s GSA chapter. I would say it’s safe to assume he’s probably into dudes,” Percy said with a shrug.

“Well maybe he’s just a straight ally,” Nico grumbled.

“I’m going to go get a drink before I drown in self-sabotage. Nico, if you don’t at least get his number, so help me God, we will have to have a conversation after tonight,” Reyna told Nico sternly, jabbing two fingers in an “I’m watching you” motion before walking off to talk to say hello to someone who was waving her down. Nico stood there, feeling abandoned by Reyna, God, Cthulhu, and the Force as he figured somehow along the line someone had let his life become this.

“So, do you want me to officially introduce you to him?” Percy asked curiously. “If you really don’t want to, it’s fine though.”

“No, let’s do this,” Nico said. “Introduce me.”

Nico followed Percy through the crowd, which was difficult considering people stopped Percy every two steps to say hello to him. For someone who always complained about having too much to do, Percy had probably found a way to help or befriend every single person he’d ever met. Which, Nico supposed was one of Percy’s charming qualities but he wouldn’t admit that even at gunpoint. Nico stuck behind him, avoiding conversation as much as possible and trying to steel himself for the impossible task of actually having a conversation with Will besides the polite morning greetings he had grown accustomed to without utterly embarrassing himself. Nico didn’t think flirting with Will and getting his number was going to be happening any time soon, so the very least he could do was fool Will Solace into thinking he was a functioning member of society.

“Oh, hey Percy!” Jason said, and Percy waved back. Nico at this point was frozen, definitely couldn’t move because there was Will looking at him. At the sight of Nico standing slightly behind Percy, Jason grinned. “Nico, oh my god they managed to get you out of your room. Percy, I told you calling in Reyna for reinforcements was a good idea.”

“Oh I see, so you’re the one who sent Reyna?” Nico asked attention split from Will, before glaring at Jason darkly. “Percy I now find you less annoying. Jason’s the one who betrayed me. Don’t think I’m going to forgive you for this discretion Grace.” 

“Oh come on, having fun is good for you Nico. Don’t be contrarian,” Jason said with a shake of his head.

“Oath-breaker,” Nico spat.

“Well you’re at the party aren’t you?”

“The party that’s happening in my apartment that I didn’t ask for!” 

“You’re still here right?”

“I’m not going to leave my apartment! What do you take me for, a weakling?”

“Anyways, before Nico tears off someone’s head and eat their innards and by someone I mean Jason,” Percy said, trying to redirect Nico. “Nico, I don’t think you’ve met Lou Ellen, Cecil, and Will yet. Everyone, this is Nico di Angelo. Nico, everyone.”

Welp, there goes the functioning member of society thing, Nico thought as he cringed. Now Will probably thinks I’m an axe murderer. Granted my freaking roommates make me consider it daily but…

“We’ve met before,” Will said with a wide smile that was balm for his soul, a light that made him wonder if this was what that dope in Plato’s allegory felt like when he first walked out the damn cave. 

“Holy shit, I didn’t realize Scary Nico was the same as Nico at the coffee shop,” the guy, Cecil, in surprise. Nico squinted at him. He was sort of plain looking except for his mischievous grin and his slightly goofy ears, but he did look familiar. The answer suddenly dawned on him.

“You were in my Business Math class weren’t you?” Nico asked him suspiciously.

“Uh, yeah? He made our TA cry just by glaring at him once, it was fucking awesome,” Cecil explained to a very confused looking Will as he stuck out his hand. “Cecil Markowitz, it’s a pleasure to officially meet you, Nico.” 

“Lou Ellen Blackstone, I know your sister, from the art studio. Her name’s Hazel, right? The art project she’s working on is pretty amazing,” she said, and just knowing that she thought Hazel was awesome improved his opinion of her. Not that he’d had one before. He’d never met her before in his entire life.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you officially. I’m Will Solace,” Will said with an amused grin.

“Nico di Angelo,” Nico said, starting to put his hand out, but then changing his mind halfway like some idiot and then awkwardly waving but at that point it was sort of more a limp hand flap. Nico resisted the urge to put his head through nearest the wall.

“Oh, hey! Nyssa’s waving us over, you two have fun!” Percy said suddenly, Jason steering Will’s friends in the opposite direction. Nico was so distracted by this sudden plot twist and the calculations that he was making on how to apologize to Annabeth and Piper for killing their boyfriends that he almost didn’t hear what Will said next. 

“--would you want to go grab a non-coffee drink with me, unless you don’t drink which is cool by the way?” Will asked him.

“Now?” Nico croaked, hoping Will didn’t catch him paling.

“Uh...I mean, if it’s not a bother?” Will asked sheepishly.

“Um, no. It’s fine, I’m fine--I mean, yeah sure,” Nico blurted out. “I drink. I mean, not all the time but yeah.”

Oh my Gods, Nico thought as he cringed. Why can’t I at the very least just pretend I have more emotions besides Murder, Anxiety, and Existential Horror?

“Sounds good,” Will said, smoothing over the awkwardness with an encouraging smile, which was a good thing but also probably a bad thing because what if he felt bad for Nico because of how dumb he was acting? He definitely didn’t have a chance with this obviously well adjusted nice guy, if Nico was smart he would have just jumped the sinking ship. But Nico wasn’t smart and Will was ridiculously good looking, so he followed Will over to his kitchen where there was all the alcohol, and considering alcohol could really only help the situation at this point Nico slammed down a shot and then grabbed a cup of pretty awful beer to chase it with. Will watched him, seemingly amused.

“What?” Nico asked, his voice rough from the sudden consumption of alcohol and he grimaced at the sound of it against his ears.

“I get the feeling you’re having a rough night,” Will said as he slid Nico a new beer.

“Buddy, you don’t know the half of it,” Nico told him. “I’m having a rough life, not because of you obviously. You’re fine. Great. It’s just my absolute garbage friends and I--you know this is probably too much information for you I’m just going to nurse my drink.”

Will covered his mouth, and Nico heard muffled laughter. Shit, even that was cute, Nico thought. Why did he have to be so cute? It was almost irritating, but like pushing him against the wall and kissing him silly irritating, not throw a party in your apartment without telling you irritating.

“Definitely not too much information seeing how I know nothing about you,” Will pointed out. “Only your regular breakfast order and that you’re Percy and Jason’s roommate. Hell, I don’t even know what your major is.”

“I’m a criminal justice and history double major,” Nico said.

“Oh, cool. I’m a bio major, on pre-med track,” Will told him. “Criminal justice is cool though, do you want to be a cop?”

“I don’t know, maybe? My dad owns a law firm so I might just end up going to law school, but I think something in the general field would be cool. I still haven’t quite figured it all out yet,” Nico admitted. Honestly the future was still a hard thing to think about even just in passing. Though his dad didn’t really say it (and not like they casually talked or anything), but Nico knew that his father hoped that he would take over the business one day, and honestly Nico knew he was cutthroat enough for it. Hell, his dad had drilled the whole “no mercy” thing into his head since Nico joined a tee-ball team at four years old. But Nico had always thought it would be nice to do good and maybe go the nonprofit route, not that he would admit that out loud to anyone right now. He was sure that everyone already suspected Nico was actually a softie, and it would do him no good to reveal that it was at least partially true.

“Who the hell has things figured out? Introduce them to me, they’re a rare and strange species of human,” Will pointed out to Nico.

“If I knew anyone who had it together, maybe I would. Oh...well, maybe Reyna,” Nico said thoughtfully. “But definitely not me, that’s for sure.” 

“Me neither,” Will said with a smile, taking a sip of the beer in his hands. 

“So I told you something about myself, what about you? How do you know Jason? I saw you talking to him earlier,” Nico asked him.

“Well, I know his sister Thalia. Sigma Potnia Theron does a lot of fundraising for university functions,” Will explained casually with a shrug. “Jason’s just an acquaintance of mine. But it’s kind of funny that we haven’t been introduced until now, at least officially.”

“I don’t get out often,” Nico said flatly.

“I see,” Will said seriously. “That’s seriously not cool, especially when your presence could have been shared with the rest of us.”

“Finally, someone who gets it!” Nico said with a sigh. “I’m a gift, but you wouldn’t know it based on how everyone treats me. It’s a crying shame.”

“Who would do such a horrible thing?” Will asked with a laugh and Nico almost melted on the spot because even his laugh was a thing of beauty.

“I don’t know,” Nico said, just absorbing the warmth from Will’s laugh and continuing to drink. He had never thought that someone’s laugh was beautiful, but at the same time this was the most attractive boy he’d ever seen so maybe it was just a talent of his. Or maybe the beer goggles were really that strong right now. Then again Will was still hot when Nico was sober so.

“I know you said you didn’t want to be taken for a weakling, but would it be alright if I totally schooled you in beer pong?” Will asked as he jabbed his thumb towards the table with a grin. 

“More like get your butt whooped in beer pong,” Nico informed him sternly, finishing off his beer and grabbing another. “Don’t challenge me and think you’ll walk away without a beating.”

“I’m pretty confident in my aim,” Will said, with a wink. An actual wink.

Just when things seemed like they were going to be going well for once in Nico’s life, Nico heard commotion by the bathroom--which historically was a horrible place for commotion to be happening. Nico dropped the beer and quickly went to find out what was happening, with Will hot on his heels. Nico groaned as he saw what was actually happening. Thalia Grace weakly lifted up her head from the toilet and waved, looking green and half falling over.

“Hey...lil bro,” Thalia greeted in a slur.

“Don’t call me that, Gods you are worse than Jason,” Nico muttered as he planted himself down by her. She made another gagging noise and Nico quickly repositioned her back over the toilet and pulled back her relatively short hair. Nico looked away pointedly as she actually threw up though, not really willing to look at that. “What the hell did you drink?”

“Tequila...too much tequila,” Thalia clarified before resting her face against the side of the tub.

“Okay...what did you pregame with?”

“Long...Island Iced Tea.”

“Were you trying to die?” Nico groaned, exasperated.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Will asked curiously. Nico looked back at him in surprise. Honestly, he had sort of forgotten that Will was there and so hearing him talk was startling. He was looking at Nico and Thalia with a gentle concern that almost melted Nico’s cold unfeeling heart. And Gods, Nico wanted to go back to the (probably failed) flirting and the beer pong. But as always, it seemed like he needed to be the responsible one.

“No thanks, I’m an unwilling host but I’m a host nonetheless. I’m gonna get Thalia squared away, you just go back and enjoy the party,” Nico said, though his own words sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

“Well...alright, if you say so. But here, give me your phone,” Will said holding out his hand. Nico pulled it out numbly and unlocked it. Will quickly plugged in his number and handed it back to Nico. “Hit me up if you need help, okay?”

“Okay,” Nico said slowly, and Will walked away. Nico looked at his phone. Will’s name had a smiling-blushing emoji next to it, crap.

“You _totallyyyyy_ got his number,” Thalia said as she stumbled against Nico who hauled her up with her arm around his shoulder. “Good work bro.”

“Seriously, I don’t want to hear anything from you right now,” Nico said shortly as he began the trek to get Thalia in his room laying down and her some water. “And if you throw up on me, I’m going to never forgive you.”


	2. The Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Nico had liked to think that Will lived in a cave unburdened by society and only emerged to get coffee and be Nico’s fantasy, and the fact that Will lived on the peripheral of Nico’s friend group somehow made him more nervous. All of Nico’s friends were freaks (who Nico loved and cared about though he would never say it but they were all still certifiably freaky) so if Will was his friend’s friend that meant he must also be some form of freaky." Nico has a guilty pleasure, checking out a guy who goes to the same coffee shop that he does. But when they bump into each other at a party, neither of them seem to be prepared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got the inspiration to finish this week thanks to Solangelo Week! This meets the College/Roommates prompt and it kind of sucks but you know what I’m just going with it. Enjoy!

“Listen, Nico, I know you’re pissed at me, but seriously stop toying with the scissors,” Thalia whined exasperatedly as she snatched the hand towel to dry her face. Nico looked up and gave her a look, bathroom scissors still in his hand.

“What? Am I not even allowed to cut my nails?” Nico asked her sullenly.

“You aren’t cutting your nails, you’ve just been glaring a hole in the wall! Listen, I don’t know how many times I can apologize. But I’m already suffering here! My head feels like it’s being split open, literally, like I might die from this hangover!”

“Then perish,” Nico told her.

“You suck,” Thalia said, throwing the towel at his head. He ducked it and stuck his tongue out at her. They both glared at each other for a solid minute.

“Hey, we’re going to brunch. And you’re coming with us Nico,” Annabeth announced as she walked into the bathroom in just a bra and underwear which made Nico lose his balance and slide off the toilet.

“Woah! Annabeth! Put some damn clothes on!” Nico demanded of her, watching as she picked up the blue toothbrush and began brushing her teeth. “And oh my god, that’s Percy’s toothbrush! That’s disgusting!”

“Please stop yelling,” Thalia begged, taking the position of cuddling against Nico who was now wedged between the tub and the toilet and the wall. Annabeth just watched them, obviously amused before swishing and spitting.

“Thalia, get off of me,” Nico told her.

“Bathroom party!” Percy said, only wearing boxers as he walked in, giving Annabeth a sloppy kiss, which left both of them smiling like dopey idiots. Annabeth put toothpaste on the toothbrush and stuck it in Percy’s mouth.

“You’ve got morning breath,” she explained.

“Babe you can shove anything in my mouth and I’d be into it,” Percy promised her, voice muffled between the toothbrush and his teeth. Annabeth just snorted in amusement.

“Ew,” both Thalia and Nico said.

“Anyways Annabeth told you guys about family brunch, right? It’s mandatory,” Percy said as he brushed his teeth.

“Family brunch?” Jason chimed in, popping his head in as he walked by. “Awesome! Thalia, you coming with?”

“Sorry, I have to go back to my dorm. I feel like I’m gonna die,” Thalia said as she got up unsteadily.

“I’ll walk with you over there. I’m gonna go pick up Piper, Leo, and Calypso from their dorm,” Jason said as he gave his sister a smile.

“Nico...thanks for last night,” Thalia said honestly. “I hope everything goes well with the boy.”

“Get out of here before I change my mind about the scissors,” Nico said as he pulled himself up. Thalia leaned in and kissed his temple, making Nico squawk and swat her away. Both Jason and Thalia were laughing as they left the bathroom.

“So brunch?” Percy asked curiously.

“If we go somewhere where there is enough maple syrup to drown me so I no longer have to deal with this wretched plain of existence then I’m okay with brunch,” Nico told him seriously.

“Sounds good, will do. But don’t forget I’m a lifeguard so I’m like contractually obligated to administer CPR,” Percy reminded him before he swished and spit.

“Percy, you’d find me shoving my entire fist into your big mouth way less sexy than anything Annabeth has planned for you,” Nico told him as he managed to get himself unwedged.

“Yeah I know isn’t she sexy?” Percy said dreamily.

“That wasn’t where I was going with this,” Nico said hopelessly. “Come on, doofus or we’ll miss brunch.”

Nico, Percy, and Annabeth disembarked from the dorm and took an Uber over to the restaurant. Nico generally didn’t mind third-wheeling it with Percy and Annabeth, since they were generally a good time with their antics and penchant for getting into trouble. However on that particular morning, they were basically attached at the hip. Whatever kind of sex they had last night had to have been either extra good or extra weird, Nico thought as Percy blew bubbles into Annabeth’s water and she giggled. Nope, definitely extra weird he corrected.

“So you got Will Solace’s number last night?” Percy asked curiously.

“I did, before I had to save Thalia’s life,” Nico told him as he swirled the ice cubes around with his straw. “It doesn’t mean anything though. He probably just feels bad for me.”

“Highly doubtful,” Annabeth said with a roll of her grey eyes. “When are you going to get it through your thick skull that people find you attractive?”

“Um excuse me?” Nico called the waiter over. “I just want to make it clear that we’re not splitting checks.”

“Okay sure,” the waiter said before walking off.

“There’s going to be seven of us!” Annabeth gasped in indignation.

“Yep, and you’re going to have to check all that math when we pay because I know for a fact that you are anal retentive about that stuff,” Nico said with a vicious grin. “Today’s a good day to exploit my enemy’s weaknesses.”

“Nico you petty bitch,” Annabeth said darkly. “I was giving you a complement and this is how you treat me?”

“What can I say? That’s how I roll,” Nico said with a shrug. Suddenly hands were placed on his shoulders. Nico looked up, glaring into Jason’s face.

“Why are you touching me?” Nico asked him.

“I’m breaking up whatever fistfight that was going to ensue before it even starts,” Jason said calmly before releasing Nico and sitting down next to him, Nico brushed off his shirt. 

“You’re no fun at all,” Annabeth told Jason while pouting.

“Babe, we can’t get kicked out of here before we even order pancakes. I really want blueberry pancakes,” Percy told Annabeth with puppy dog eyes, and Annabeth sighed as if Percy had just made a really good point.

“Anything look good?” Piper asked as she plucked the menu right from Nico’s hands and gave Nico a smile that made it virtually impossible for him to complain.

“I love the omelettes here,” Leo said as he slid into the seat next to Percy, bringing Calypso with them. She laughed as their chairs collided.

“Great now I’m like the seventh wheel,” Nico mumbled under his breath.

“You could’ve invited Will, I’m sure he would’ve come,” Piper told him.

“Listen, I have a bone to pick with you over that,” Nico told her with an angry huff. “Don’t just go blabbing about my business to everyone and their mother, and I mean that literally I’m half convinced Sally’s going to call me by one over this.”

“Oh, you mean Will Solace?” Calypso asked curiously. “He was at the party last night, he’s the same Will that Piper was talking about?”

“Great, you know Will Solace? Does everyone know Will Solace?” Nico lamented. Everyone at the table looked around for a minute, before there seemed to be a general consensus made.

“Yeah, I think everyone does now that I think about it,” Annabeth concluded.

“He’s in the Orientation Club, he showed me around when I transferred here. Had one of those super slick white jackets, you know the ones? The ones the people wear when they give tours around campus? He’s a really cool dude,” Leo said with a envious nod. Nico definitely knew the ones. The whole jacket and dress pant combination that the student-led tour guides wore that was a combination of both over eager and incredibly good looking that he had admired from the second floor of the student union as they walked by leading hopeful high schoolers and their parents.

“His brother Austin is in the drama club, Will went to like all of the performances we put on of Anything Goes,” Calypso said as she rested her head on her chin. “He even bought an ad, it was so sweet and thoughtful.”

“Will helped out with the Habitat for Humanity thing last spring break with the rest of the mission from his church,” Annabeth said with a shrug.

“He’s part of the Biology Society, so we meet with them for student government,” Jason said thoughtfully.

“How the hell does he do all of that stuff?” Nico asked suspiciously.

“He’s the kind of person who can’t help but get involved when people ask for his help,” Percy explained easily. “Somehow he just sort of...does it?”

“He’s perfect,” Nico said as he was locked in a deep unfathomable horror. “He’s a perfect human being. Literally he was probably carried to Earth on a sunbeam.”

“Probably,” Percy agreed.

“I can’t deal with this, nope. No way. I thought he was in a totally different league but now I know he’s from a like different planet. How the hell do you guys think that I can just casually ask a guy like that out?” Nico demanded of his friends. “Especially when I’m...like...me?”

“Nico, you’ve got a lot of good qualities,” Piper promised him.

“Name one,” Nico challenged.

“You buy your sister breakfast every morning because you love her and you know it makes her happy,” Piper immediately said.

“Shit, I wasn’t expecting you to come up with one that fast,” Nico admitted as he looked away pointedly, feeling his face flush from the unexpected compliment.

“Why is it Nico takes compliments from Piper and not me?” Annabeth asked Jason, who shrugged.

“Aside from the fact that Nico should totally go for it, does everyone know what their getting because I’m starving and ready to order,” Percy said, thankfully bring the topic around to something Nico could actually deal with which was stuffing himself up to the gills with pancakes. The conversation shifted to something Clarisse had done during a soccer game, and Nico half listened as he tried to think through his own issues as he dumped more maple syrup on his stack of pancakes and poked the yellow of his sunny side up eggs and watched the yoke run.

He was lucky to have great friends, even if they drove him up the wall. But he also knew that their perspective was skewed by their obvious hope that Nico would find love as if he was on some sort of Lifetime movie. What Nico needed to do was do what his dad always said...even if it burned him to think that way. He needed to think like a freaking lawyer.

Now Nico’s dad was possibly one of the most infuriating people Nico had ever met and they disagreed on basically everything they could. Hell, if they could argue on the color of the sky they probably would do that too. But they were also a lot a like in a lot of ways too, and even if what his dad usually spat out was a load of garbage he sometimes did give valid advice. He had to think defensively: to protect himself and to do that he needed to proceed slowly, find the traps, measure and calculate the risk. And above all, never, ever let anyone see him sweat or be weak.

First course of action he could take was to do absolutely nothing. He didn’t have proof that Will was at all interested in him, save for being friendly at the party. This whole thing was probably all of them thinking about this too hard, really. If that was the case all he needed to do was avoid, which should be easy because before last night Nico had never come in contact with Will Solace before. Second route would be to pursue Will Solace and find out if he was interested in Nico. That was the hard one, since Nico sucked at flirting in general. But hey if it didn’t work out then at least he could say he tried.

So what should he do?

Nico thought long and hard about this. He had Will’s number but Will didn’t have his. When Will saw him at the shop, would Will be weird about the fact that Nico hadn’t texted him? He doubted Will would though, he seemed so effortless in everything he did. Hell, Nico knew that Will certainly was not interested in him like that. Nico hadn’t probably even come across as an actual human being during his interactions.

But…

As he walked a few steps behind the group as they excited the restaurant, Nico pulled out his phone. After a moment of thought, he bit the bullet.

_Hey_ , Nico typed. He waited for a moment, stepping over a crack in the sidewalk. But then just as he was about to put his phone away, there came a reply: 

_Hi there!_

Nico smiled.

* * *

“Hey,” Will greeted, and when Nico looked up Will was insanely close and insanely smiley. Nico couldn’t help but jump, but be settled as quickly as he could and pushed over so Will had room to stand next to him. Will smiled gratefully.

“Woah, uh, hi,” Nico said, and he wasn’t sure what expression he was making but it didn’t damper Will’s positivity in the slightest. That had to be a talent of his.

“It’s nice to actually, I don’t know, know who you are,” Will explained as he stood right next to Nico as they both awaited their orders. “So I’ve got to ask, you always get two coffees. Is it for the girl that meets you here or do you just drink both because no judgment.”

“Yeah, that would be my sister Hazel,” Nico explained with a shrug. “Our schedules really conflict, so it’s nice to get to see her.”

“Oh, wow. That really is nice. I wish my siblings bought me food,” Will said with a pout that was so cute Nico thought he was going to have a heart attack. “I guess they don’t love me.”

“Well, I am the older brother,” Nico pointed out.

“Shoot, I guess that means I’d have to buy food for them,” Will said with a sigh and Nico couldn’t help but snort and laugh at Will’s troubled tone. Will met his eyes and grinned.

“You’ve got a great laugh,” Will told him, blue eyes catching the light.

“Ugh, no I do not. I’ve got a horrible laugh,” Nico dismissed with a scoff, cheeks feeling warm. He hoped that Will didn’t notice.

“But I like that,” Will said.

I like that, I like that, I like that, Nico parroted in his mind. The sound of that was divine, even if Will was seriously probably on drugs. Nico’s laugh was pretty hideous. But somehow Will sounded like he meant it, like he really did like Nico’s laugh. After all, Will seemed like the kind of person who really and truly found good in everyone. That was an admirable quality for sure, and not something that came easily to Nico.

“So do you have class later?” Will asked as Piper presented them both with their coffees. For a split second Piper stared him down, and he pointedly ignored her before walking out the door quicker than he needed to.

“Yeah, today’s my easy day though. I’ve got one class at ten and then my other one at eleven. Done at twelve,” Nico explained easily.

“Well if you see me at Hestia come on over,” Will said, saying the name of the main cafeteria building.

“Okay sure,” Nico said before his brain had a chance to catch up with his mouth. It was at that precise moment that Hazel turned the corner and waved to him before walking over. She plucked the coffee out of Nico’s hand.

“Hi there, and you must be…?” Hazel asked, obviously being coy. If Nico didn’t love her he would hate her in that moment.

“Will. Will Solace, nice to meet you,” Will introduced.

“I’m Hazel, Nico’s sister. It’s nice to meet you too,” Hazel said, giving Nico a knowing smile.

“I’m going to go to class, but I’ll maybe see you later,” Will said pleasantly.

“Yeah, later,” Nico said, fumbling the words out of his mouth like he had stuffed it full of peeps. Will walked off towards the science building, and thankfully Hazel only started teasing him when they began their own walk and they were out of earshot.

“Later? Later? What does later mean, Nico please you have to tell me what later means!”

“Later just means Later! Like I might see him later, that’s it!” Nico said quickly, trying to defuse Hazel’s excitement but he found that it was far too late.

“But he wants to see you later,” Hazel told him as she bounced on his arm and Nico quickly traded his coffee with his other hand to keep it from spilling.

“We just became acquaintances he probably is just being friendly!” Nico told her quickly. Hazel sighed dramatically and got off his arm. “Will Solace is just a friendly dude.”

“Well I think he is interested in you,” Hazel said as she looked at her phone, grinned madly, and then held up the group chat for him to see. “And everyone else thinks he is too.”

“Shit! Piper!” Nico grumbled, as he watched Leo’s response of about twenty kissy-face emojis flash by the screen as everyone else spammed with reaction gifs. He batted her hand and got his phone out of his line of sight. “You guys don’t get it. Even if Will Solace is into dudes, which hasn’t even been confirmed, he’s probably not interested in me like that. I doubt he goes out with every gay guy he meets. Really, he’s just being friendly.”

“You are such a sourpuss,” Hazel said with frown. “Nico, would it kill you to be a little more positive?”

“Honestly it might,” Nico said with a shrug. “I don’t know who positive is but she sounds bothersome.”

“Just meet him for lunch,” Hazel told him. “Give the cute boy a chance.”

“I’m telling you, this is a horrible idea. I’ll mess this up badly, I just know I will,” Nico said as he trudged forward, kicking a pebble in his path.

“Didn’t you just tell me yesterday that you were going to find out if he was interested?” Hazel asked with an impatient sigh. 

“Well I changed my mind! I’m allowed to do that it’s a free country you know!” Nico told her before running a hand through his hair, probably not helping any of his cowlicks at all. “Okay, okay I know I’m being slightly ridiculous--”

“Slightly?” Hazel asked him. 

“Okay, very ridiculous,” Nico corrected. “But every time I’ve tried the whole romance thing it’s ended up being a total disaster.” 

“It hasn’t been a total disaster,” Hazel tried to tell him but Nico shook his head. 

“Hazel. Albania.” 

“Okay, fine it’s sort of been a disaster, but really what do you want me to say to that? I think you should give it another shot. Meet him for lunch, he already offered and you already agreed.” She had got him there, Nico realized. He had already agreed, and if he skipped out then it would be rude of him. Usually he didn’t care about being rude but Will Solace had never done anything wrong to him, so Nico knew he didn’t deserve that. Nico would meet him for lunch, if was pretty much decided. As if sensing her victory, Hazel sipped on her coffee with a content smile. 

So that was how Nico found himself in the cafeteria, nervously playing a dating sim on his phone as he waited for Will to get back from the lunch line. Will was all smiles as Nico sat across from him in the cafe. In fact, Nico didn’t think he had seen Will frown at all. Nico wondered if it hurt his face to stay like that all the time. Nico hoped it didn’t, Will had a very attractive face after all. Nico wouldn’t want him to hurt...unless he was into something like that. 

“So, tell me, how’s your day going?” Will asked as he stuck his fork into his salad. 

“Pretty normal I think,” Nico responded as he scooted a carrot across his plate, eyeing it with distaste. 

“Not a fan of carrots,” Will asked with a chuckle.

“Not really,” Nico admitted. Then watched with horror as Will picked up the vegetable and popped it into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it. Holy shit, was Nico’s immediate thought. My fork had touched that. Oh my gods, am I in fourth grade? Nico’s more conscious mind asked, thoroughly annoyed. At this point Nico was probably gaping at Will like he had just grown another head. Will just continued to smile as if he had no clue what had befuddled Nico so thoroughly. Oh, he was tricky. Nico thought. 

“So...um, you mentioned you have siblings earlier?” Nico asked, hoping to get onto a topic he felt he could contribute to. Will nodded as he continued to eat his lunch. “How did you all end up going to the same University?”

“Well, my deadbeat dad sorta kinda donated a whole bunch of money to this school as his Alma mater, so, I got in for a nominal fee as did they,” Will said with a shrug. “Well, also it’s a pretty awesome school with stuff we all liked.”

“I’m sorry?” Nico said, his voice creeping up awkwardly.

“What for?” Will asked curiously. 

“Uh...for having a deadbeat dad?” 

“Oh, well, Apollo’s not that bad really,” Will said as he waved off the concern. “He’s harmless, just super irresponsible and also utterly incapable of keeping it in his pants. I tend to be more of the parent in most cases. It’s just annoying, but he’s got money so I can’t really complain.” 

He didn't say it in a bragging way, nor like he was looking for pity, instead he seemed matter of fact about it. Nico didn’t really know what to say to any of that. Nico’s family...well it was the definition of complicated. Hell, Nico wasn’t sure that he’d told the therapist he had been seeing for three years about half of the drama. Nico’s relationship with his dad was light-years ahead of where it had been even a year ago, and it was currently functional (which was the first time he could even say something like that). But Nico knew about having an absent dad. Not that this was the conversation he wanted to be having with Will at all, actually if he could help it he wouldn’t be nudging this topic with a two foot pole. 

“Well, I have Hazel so I get what it’s like to have a sibling go to the same school,” Nico said, switching the topic back as fast as he could. “Plus...I guess Percy and Jason count as family sort of, but you aren’t allowed to tell them that.” 

“Speaking of, they aren’t having another party this weekend are they?” Will asked with a glint in his eyes. 

“Not that I know of, but I’m usually the last to find out. Why?” Nico asked suspiciously. 

“Would you like to come out with me tomorrow night? Grab a drink or something?” Will asked hopefully. 

“Sure, yeah, of course,” Nico agreed in an awkward tumble of words. “I mean, I’ll go out to get a drink with you.”

“Awesome,” Will said with another of his signature smiles that basically melted Nico’s brain into mush. Nico wasn’t even sure how he functioned for the rest of the day. He certainly didn’t breath a word of what was happening to any of his friends of Hazel, especially now that he knew that they had some kind of bet going on. With as little fanfare as possible, made better by the fact that it was date night amongst his friends, Nico slipped out of the dorm and arrived to the designated spot. 

Will had chosen to meet Nico at The Gladiator, which was a five minute walk from campus, and was generally a hustling and bustling establishment. Since it was so busy, Nico hoped he wouldn't see anyone he knew. And as they made it to the bar, it just seemed to be people Will knew who all greeted him in the same fashion that everyone else did. By the point that Nico managed to sit down he was almost certain that he was breaking out into a cold sweat.

“So what do you drink?” Will asked curiously as he leaned against it, white t-shirt looking almost horrifyingly good against his tanned skin. Nico wanted to bite it...which wasn’t great for his focus because he already had a difficult time processing what was being said to him. 

“Depends on what mood I'm in,” Nico said with a shrug, managing to get the words of his mouth without blubbering. “I think I'm just in the mood for a vodka tonic or something.”

“You got it then,” Will said with a smile.

“I can buy my own drinks,” Nico argued weakly. “I--” 

“Oh hi Will, and hi-- _ohmygodNicodiAngelo_!”

That wasn't a particularly good sign. Behind the bar was Mitchell, and Nico groaned. He had forgotten Mitchell worked here. He was a distant relative of Piper’s, a nice enough guy but with the backbone made of gelatin and a gossip monger’s brother. Dangerous combination if you asked Nico (though people tended not to). 

“People tend to have that reaction to you don't they?” Will asked, a mirthful glint in his eyes. Nico wanted to sink into the floor. 

“Oh, hey Will!” A voice greeted from the side, a group of people waving at him.

“Give me a minute?” Will asked apologetically, and Nico waved him on numbly before returning his attention to Mitchell who was standing dumbfounded behind the bar just staring at him as if he had grown another head. 

“Vodka tonic please Mitchell,” Nico said glumly. Mitchell made a sound that was a cross between a delighted giggle and a boiling kettle.

“Oh my God, like oh my God,” Mitchell said, nearly pulling himself over the bar in his enthusiasm. “You are on a date. With Will Solace. In the gay bar I work at. And I'm witnessing it with my own two eyes. Oh my God. I'm going to die, I have to text Lacy right now.”

“Didn’t I order something?” Nico asked crossly. 

“Oh my God you aren't denying it! Ahhh! This is the best day of my whole life!” 

“We are not on a date!” Nico said harshly. “We are just friends, this is platonic!” 

“Honey, please. Denial is not a good look for you,” Mitchell told him before fanning himself excitedly. “Oh my God Sebastian is gonna flip!”

“Mitchell, please, my drink,” Nico begged. 

“Okay, okay. I'm cool. I'm cool,” Mitchell said as he took a deep breath. A giggle spurted out of him before he went to go retrieve whatever he needed to make Nico’s drink. Nico sagged against the bar. What was he even doing here? Five minutes in and he had already embarrassed himself. He should just quickly down his drink and then leave. 

“Sorry about that,” Will said as he slid into the bar seat next to Nico. 

“It’s fine,” Nico said, trying to come off cool and unaffected. He wasn't sure how that was going for him but he certainly could try. Mitchell came back with Nico’s drink and smiled at Will. 

“What can I get you?” He asked Will who smiled. “Rum and coke, also, put Nico’s drink on my tab,” Will told Mitchell.

“Oh of course! I'll be right back with that,” Mitchell said as he nodded so hard he nearly dislocated something and then ducked out of the way of Nico’s annoyance. 

“You aren't paying for me,” Nico informed Will curtly. 

“Why not?” Will asked, sounding confused. 

“Because I'm perfectly capable of buying my own drinks!” Nico huffed, greatly annoyed by Will’s very resistant denseness. If Will paid then this was definitely a date, and Nico didn't think he could handle that. 

“I see,” Will said with a sly look. “Well you'll have to excuse me for buying this round.”

“Fine,” Nico said as Mitchell returned and placed down the drinks before running off to help another customer. Nico got bustled at the bar a bit, and managed to scare off a guy with a glare before sighing. 

“So you mentioned to me you don't come here often, was there somewhere else you would prefer? If you really dislike--” Will began to say before Nico cut him off. 

“It's not that, I just usually go to quieter bars. Like Easton Street or something.” 

“Oh, so you like old people bars,” Will teased and Nico rolled his eyes. 

“I don't see anything wrong with having fifty year olds buy you drinks all night,” Nico said with a shrug.

“But you don’t want me to buy you a drink?” Will asked with a laugh, and Nico felt his face flush.

“Because if you buy me a drink--we’re not on a date,” Nico spluttered.

“What would it take for this to be a date?” Will’s tone was curious and Nico swallowed heavily.

“Um…” Nico mumbled, and then suddenly Nico felt Will’s hand touch his fingers, curling around them. He looked at Nico, as if for permission, and Nico couldn't look away. 

“Here’s what I think we should do,” Will said with a smile, staring at Nico so intensely that he was half convinced he had something on his face. 

“We should finish our drinks, then go dance on the dancefloor, and then I think you ought to kiss me.” Now it was Nico’s turn to stare at him. Woah, okay, so this was happening, Nico thought before he eloquently concluded with: screw it. 

“Why? Because you won't kiss me?” Nico asked him, as he slid his arm around Will’s waist, doing his best to give a flirty smile. “I don't think I've done anything that bad yet.”

“I think I like where this is going,” Will whispered in his ear, as a thrill ran up his spine. 

“I think I do too.”

* * *

Will’s lips were hot on his as they burst through the door of his apartment. Nico grabbed the bottom of Will’s shirt and nearly ripped it as he aimed to get his hands everywhere they could go--and Nico gasped as Will curled his fingers in his haired and pulled just right. 

“Are you--God, Nico,” Will gasped as Nico trailed his mouth down his neck, looking for places to mark his skin. “Are you sure you’re good with this?” 

“Just shut up and make out with me!” Nico ordered, managing to shut Will up with another bruising kiss. Nico groaned as Will half sent them sprawling back on the couch, and how good his weight felt on him--how his touch traced fire down his skin. Oh, they would have time later to do all the things he had imagined, but for right now Nico just wanted more. Nico wanted whatever Will could give him and yet it didn’t seem like enough. 

“God, you’re hot,” Will half-moaned into his neck, kissing down his shoulder, over his chest, down his belly as he fumbled with his belt and Nico desperately tried to kick off his boot. 

“I know,” Nico said.

“And you’re cocky,” Will said, looking up at him with eyes a darkened blue that sent a shiver down his spine. “But I don’t dislike that.” 

“Why don’t you put me in my place then?” Nico asked him with a grin, as he trailed his fingers under Will’s chin. “Unless you like it the other way around, I can be very obliging when I want to be. You always seem to be taking care of other people, I’d be happy to take care of you” 

Nico watched Will have a physical reaction, eyes blown wide, cheeks flushing red, and he seemed to freeze for a single moment. 

“Holy crap,” Will said, looking away for a second as if trying to compose himself before squinting at him suspiciously. “Are you sure you are a real person and you haven’t been hanging out in my head for a few months because you are like, hitting all my very odd specific kinks right now.” 

“What can I say? I’m just that good. And plus I’ve been having plenty of my own naughty thoughts,” Nico said with a laugh as he pushed Will on his back on the armrest. Will was laughing--a low rumbling vibration that made Nico groan again and reach down--

The door slammed open.

“We’re back-- _holy crap_!” 

In that moment, Nico jerked to look up and his leg slipped. He felt Will attempt to grab him to keep him from falling, but the next thing he knew Nico was clinging the back of his throbbing head and laying half underneath Will who was sprawled over with their legs tangled up together. Nico looked up with a glare to see Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason standing in the doorway all with various expressions of surprise, embarrassment, and amusement. Nico placed one hand on the coffee table he had bashed his skull into and glared. 

“Didn’t your mom ever teach you to knock you goddamn degenerate?!” Nico demanded of Percy as he felt Will reach over.

“Shit, that’s going to be a nasty bump,” Will said, gentle fingers prodding the back of his head, and though his cheeks were reddened he carried on like business as usual. “You guys wouldn’t happen to have an ice-pack would you?” 

“Yeah, probably,” Jason said as he quickly went into the kitchen, pulling Piper behind him who was offering a thumbs up.

“Wow, you really fell head over heels there, didn’t you?” Percy asked with a grin. Annabeth just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. 

“You are definitely not helping,” Annabeth told him as she grabbed him by his shoulders, and physically steered him away. “We’re going to your room, I’m so sorry guys.”

“Please, don’t stop on our account! Keep making out,” Percy hollered at him. “Nice seeing you Will!”

“Yeah, good seeing you too Percy,” Will said, with a embarrassed laugh that was still good-natured and totally hot. Nico now felt his skin erupt into heat as he sank somehow further into the floor. 

“God I hate this fucking family,” Nico said as he put his face in his hands, looking up only to see Jason handing Will the ice-pack which Will pressed to the back of Nico’s head. Nico looked at him and sighed as he touched it. “If you never want to talk to me ever again, I totally understand and support your decision.”

“Why would I do that when this is so much fun?” Will asked, and Nico tried to detect any sarcasm but saw nothing in his expression that indicated such. Will knotted their fingers together as they held the ice-pack together. “I would totally do this again...though, I always appreciate a head’s up for interruption. Do you think we could do that?” 

“Yeah…” Nico said, nearly beaming. “Yeah, I think that can be arranged.” 

“Get a room!”

“It’s my fucking apartment--Percy Jackson get over here so I can kick your ass!” 

Will laughed, and somehow disaster appeared to be avoided.


End file.
